Slow Economy Means More Children Home Alone

After a couple of young kids drowned while swimming unsupervised in Jacksonville, Fla., the state said it is seeing an uptick in the number of children who are left home alone as parents work two jobs and scramble to keep their lives together.

I wonder if the “trend” can be proven somehow and whether it translates into juvenile problems, injuries or other trauma.

Are summer daycare facilities noticing any effect? Are kids who might have once participated in summer activities now home because parents can’t afford summer camps or care? How have city/country budgets affected summer pool hours or other activities where kids might have gone to keep busy and stay safe?

“The Census Bureau found that 15% were home alone before school, 76% after school and 9% at night. Presumably, the 9% have parents who work night shifts.

“One-half of all children in the country age 12 to 14 are home alone an average of seven hours a week. The very poor in America are less likely to leave their children alone at home, or allow them to go home alone, than families who earn twice the poverty income. This is probably because the very poor live in less safe neighborhoods, and have fewer friends or family who can step in, in case of emergency. In spite of the hours spent on the job, working mothers spend an average of five-and-a-half hours a day with their children. “